Kuala Terengganu 2014

Last month I had an opportunity to visit the land of my alma mater, Kuala Terengganu for work.

It's been 5 years since I last went back to Kuala Terengganu, the last time I was there was for my convocation.

I remember how smiley I was after getting off the plane - the air was breezy. Even though it was dark, I couldn't stop being happy just breathing Kuala Terengganu air!

Maybe I was just happy to get away! Haha

UMT, 5 years after

Boy, a lot has changed! I could barely recognise all the buildings - the faculties I used to study in, the laboratories..

The dataran where we would wait for our van sapu to go back to the hostel (if walking/riding with friends wasn't an option)

The university underwent major transformation with the new Vice Chancellor. The faculties are now known as schools (pusat pengajian).

The open space where Taekwondo trainings were carried out under the library

No nose harmed in this photo-taking process heehee. Got this from one of the issues of a school's magazine

akok, kuih bakar (green) and goreng pisang

The university even has a Pusat Siswa, where the CIMB Bank is relocated here from its previous location (y'know, that small little place wtf I can imagine where it is but I'm not sure what that area is called).

Got bakery somemore! HMMMPH!

i think this mosque is still under construction

I feel a little bit jealous with the students nowadays - they have KFC, McDonald's (with McCafe) AND Burger King along the way to the university. During my time the closest McDonald's was in the Kuala Terengganu town, at the bus station. A Mydin Mall is going to open up soon too! Apparently the one near the Giant Mall (near that bukit/state library) is going to close down.

One night out

Was fortunate that one of my former coursemates (Bakyah) was available to hangout on the second night I was there, and she managed to call out another coursemate (Afiq) who is a local. So they both brought me out to jalan-jalan.

Dinner was in this warung call Rahsia Kitchen located at Jalan Budiman, which doesn't look like your typical warung.

Looks more like an open-dining small eatery, opened in a compound of a house, with small number of tables and chairs.

Kit Kat something which was just okay for me

Grilled lamb chop. WATCH. OUT. FOR. THE. MASHED. POTATO. It's just so gooooooooooooddddddd.

FB page: https://www.facebook.com/rahsia.kitchen/info


Then they brought me for a drive before stopping at Chinatown/Kampung Cina, a place where me and my friends would frequent on weekends for some food/grocery shopping or just jalan-jalan.

Somehow the town had also undergone some changes

The small alleys between the shoplots are decorated extensively with different themes, making them popular photo spots.

I. Don't. Get. This.

There's Tappers in Kuala Terengganu OMG

ahhh.. love locks pun ada!

I'm not sure what to make of this.. transformation. I mean, it does make the town more interesting, but somehow, something feels off.

Afiq then brought us to a cafe he discovered.. in Chinatown!

Dammit why didn't you exist 5++ years ago when I was there?!

LOL

rare selfie just to show off the interior of the cafe. say thank you.

iced cappucino

flavoured milk with a cute foam art

strawberry cheesecake which was not worth ordering

my butterscotch latte which was so goooddddddddd

Glad to be able to go back, but I wish I was there for a holiday instead of work so I didn't have to rush around. And I wish I drove instead!

Hope to be back again someday!

Random photos after the jump!

Oh Happy Day!

I chose the title for this post after watching Class 3-A's performance in the Japanese version of My Boss, My Hero, starring one of my favourite actors, Nagase Tomoya.

His stupidity in that drama is damn adorable. I like.

* * *

My convocation passed by very fast with my time on the stage can be considered as "3-seconds of fame" as mentioned by a Malay girl sitting behind me in DSM.

Haha.

I did not take much photos as expected by Cawan Milo. Pretty much because I came out of the dewan dazed (overwhelmed by the idea of me properly graduating) and not being able to find most of my friends. I shall wait for them to upload the photos then.

Hoho.

Anyways, I brought the robe and mortar board home! Now I have to figure out how to return them! @_@

I jotted down my thoughts during the first 2 nights in Terengganu, so I guess I'll published them here, with some corrections/edits (in red).

:D

13th July 2009

My journey to KT started at 8.30am. Left house and mom sent me to the Putra LRT station and changed to Star LRT. Had nothing but Nescafe & Jacob's for breakfast, so bought Sausage McMuffin with egg & medium Iced Milo.

Reached Hentian Putra around 9.45am, and my bus was nowhere to be seen. 10 mins later it arrived and I climbed onto the double decker Sani Ekspress bus. Left 10 mins past 10(am).

Thank goodness for koko's iPod Touch, I watched Devil Wears Prada, read book and listened to some songs.

I was bored and lonely. And I'm not embarrased to admit that. However I chose to be on my own instead of being with my peers at that time.

The ride was okay, we went through Kuantan and passes East Coast Mall and I had a naughty urge to go to Starbucks/Big Apple Donuts/anywhere but KT. =P

So lazy don't want to write.
Got Chow Sing Chi on TV3.

I did not make up the last sentence. Haha.

Yng Jiun (YJ) arrived around midnight but I was already asleep when she called and messaged me on the phone. I was dead tired up til the morning, and didn't want to wake up at all! Until YJ called me up to get ready to go to campus.

YT Midtown hotel was alright, but I find it a bit pricey at RM124.20/night. The lock system made me feel insecure (although it is secure) while the toilet door lock didn't work. The standard room does not come with a bathtub, no hangers were provided, Tanjung Bungah (in Penang) is waaayyyyy better. Parking space was not enough and quite sempit, a challenge for those with bigger cars.

Oh well at least it's near to the MPKT bus station and McDonald's. Very convenient for me at that time.

* * *

14th July 2009

Today I met up with YJ and we went to campus together to get our robes. Size 'M' yay!

Even 'M' was damn big. Dammit.
Saw someone who reluctantly waved to us. Gosh if you don't want to wave just don't, okay?! Dahla look so snobbish, wave at people also look at other directions. So stuck up! Your mother was nicer (eventhough I didn't manage to greet her). Obviously you didn't get her good genes. Fat bitch!

Had lunch at Chinatown's food court with Alex, Bee Kee, YL (Yen Lin), Clement, Siaw Gek and Jiun with her whole family (parents and very cute younger brother hehehe). A bit paiseh that Jiun's mom belanja-ed us. *shy2*

Went to uni for rehearsal (so wasting time, they didn't really brief us properly), found out the markings on stage (so that we knew where to stand) and had sotong goreng and keropok lekor for tea. A bit awkward for me to be following the Tans around. *shy2* But I really appreciate their kindness despite the fact that I can't speak much Mandarin. *shy2*

Drove around (driven around to be more precise :P) and stopped by Pasar Payang since Mrs Tan wanted to look at batik. Was amused by her uncertainty in choosing - just like my mother. Ended up didn't buy anything since (she was) scared (she) couldn't find a good tailor. =P went back to hotel and might skip dinner.

And I skipped dinner indeed. The time span between our lunch and tea was near so I was too full for dinner. Planned for a girls' night in my room but I ended up being too tired and slept early because I encountered some issues. I regretted cancelling the event but I realised that it was good I did. Because I was quite selective about the people who I wanted to be there and I didn't want to simply blab out my feelings to people that I'm not close to.

But I vow to make it up to YJ and to the very few girls who I really appreciate and were concerned with me during my solo period before my family arrived. *hugs you people*

Sleep that night was good as I managed to get the aircon to function at a suitable temperature. Hehehe.

The next day I made use of the breakfast coupon from the hotel and had breakfast with Wei Kiat, Soon Beng, Yee Chuan and his girlfriend. Among the food offered were nasi kerabu (quite nice, but sweet sambal), porridge, mee bandung, bread, pancakes, cut-up sausages and the usual coffee, tea, orange juice and lemon tea. Decentla, but not great.

My parents and sisters arrived around 11am (they left PJ around 4.30am =O) and enjoyed the room before we left for lunch at Nasi Kukus Sempoi in Wakaf Tembesu, near where I used to live in Taman Sejati.

old photo taken somewhere in May 2009, nasi kukus (steamed rice) with ayam goreng berempah (spiced fried chicken), veges and sambal. not forgetting the crunchy papaddam.
My mom didn't find anything special about the meal EXCEPT for the ayam goreng berempah. Haha.

Then we went to Batu Enam to visit a relative and somewhere near the government building to visit another relative (whom both I failed to visit during my 3 years in KT *shy2*). We also went to Pantai Batu Buruk, a place very familiar to my parents. I've always thought that we only lived in Kemaman before but it seems that my parents used to live in KT too!

Skipped dinner and I drove to Taman Sejati to visit my former house owner with YJ. Visited the juniors too!

(updated) us with uncle and auntie, taken a few days before leaving KT after finishing our final semester. :P
* * *


The big day started with me waking up around 4-something am. Had difficulties in sleeping; either I was nervous or there were too many 'trains' running. If you get what I mean.

The event was okay. My few seconds of fame went by very fast, and by the time the whole thing ended I was quite relieved since I was so hungry and sleepy. My mom said I walked too fast, although I think I did alright.


I didn't take much photos. Heck, I didn't even take much photos with my coursemates! :P I couldn't find most of them by the time I met with my Taekwondo juniors who got me a teddy-mounted-on-flowers bouquet.

So I left DSM quite early, and totally forgot about one of the most important things I planned to do while in Terengganu:


Damn shit I forgot about my 'soft in the inside, crunhcy on the outside' freaking bahulus!

T_____T

my lovelies! how could I forget all of you? Uhuhuhuhu..
Anyways, I would like to thank my parents and sisters who spent money and their time to see my 3-seconds of fame, to the Tans for their hospitality, to YJ for her concerns and the beautiful flowers, my juniors for the flowers and gifts, and former coursemates (friends or foes) for giving me opportunities to see them for the last time before we meet again and other unimates who I managed to meet eventhough only for a while. Thanks for the memories and hope that all of you will have a great future, loving everything that you all do and living your desired lives.

To Felicity and Kristen, so sorry for not being able to attend your ceremony and congratulate you both. Wish I was there but I hope you both had a great time.

photo taken from Wei Kiat's FB
Congratulations, Class of 2009!
=)

Well then, back to the usual.

Christmas Set Meal at Secret Recipe, Kuala Terengganu

bodom Kenya Coffeepress hiding inside for EC
Was in Secret Recipe in Kuala Terengganu to celebrate one of those special ocassions with EC. Since there were no Tony Roma's, Sushi Zanmai, Pick n' Brew, Delicious, blablablayougetthepoint in KT, we had dinner there, wanting to spend some quality time away from our peers.

Surprisingly, in conjunction with Christmas, Secret Recipe is having a special Christmas Set Meal at RM25++ which consists of a starter of mushroom soup and free tapioca chips while the main dish can be chosen between Stewed Aussie Beef Steak and Pan Grilled Dory with Lobster Sauce while the drink offered is Appletiser Sparkling Juice (can have the grape one also if I'm not mistaken).


The Stewed Aussie Beef Steak is the latest main from Secret Recipe. I am not sure whether they will bring into the menu (since it's cheaper than the Lamb Shank) but I hope they do! Since its food choices are getting more boring. Been there too many times already that I stopped going to any of the franchises when I'm back in PJ.

Appletiser

Tapioca chips, which comes free with the set. The price is RM4 (so expensive!)

Mushroom soup. Can't remember what's the original price. Surprisingly it's not so bad. It's better than the one served in a particular pizza chain, where I feel that its mushroom soup is MSG-laced. However, this one is not THAT superfantastic. We suspected that they mixed it with some instant mushroom soup.

Stewed Aussie Beef Steak, priced at RM18 if you want to order separately.
The beef steak was also surprisingly good. At RM18, the dish comes with a thick slice of beef, complete with fats which made EC very, very happy. The meat was not hard to cut as it is flaky after some stewing. The sauce (light black peppery), although simple, goes well with the beef. Will be ordering it again and hope it stays in the menu!

Curry Seafood Laksa, RM15.50
The Curry Seafood Laksa..is not part of the set meal. =P It is one of my favourite food in Secret Recipe and one of the best curry noodles I've ever eaten. I am picky when it comes to curry noodles, I like mine spicy, thick with less santan, filled with loads of bean sprouts and served with a good sambal! This laksa certainly does not disappoint, the thick gravy is cooked with dried shrimps, giving me something to chew on while I guiltlessly slurp the soup. They were generous with prawns - fresh ones indeed, and the were quite a number of cuttlefish rings. For small eaters, never fear, the amount of noodles are less than the soup and bean sprouts, so you do not have to worry about overstuffing yourselves, unless you slurp the gravy til there are no droplets left in the bowl. =P The accompanying sambal goes well with the dish, you can choose to savour it slowly with every bite of noodles or you can just dump everything into the laksa. =D Just by typing this, I'm salivating eventhough I had just finished dinner.

We ended our dinner with a slice of Hazelnut Cheese, currently Secret Recipe's Cake of the Month. Tasted like Forrero Roche, filled with hazelnuts and hazelnut-flavoured cream cheese, it was not impressive. Since I dislike Forrero Roche. Haha.

Hazelnut Cheese, RM6.50 per price
Although I find the prices in Secret Recipe have increased much since my schooling days, once in a while it does not hurt my purse to go there for some nice dinner.. since there's no other place for me and EC to go for expensive dinners. =P